Entrepreneurship teaches you things that a regular job does not or if I may say, cannot. You learn the A to Z of managing a business, to take risks and deal with failures, celebrate little successes and of course to live without the surety of a pay check at the end of the month! That’s a lot of learning for one life time and if you’re a first time entrepreneur all this learning can get a bit overwhelming. But, once the lessons are learnt, you emerge wiser and stronger.
When I set out to launch my first venture – Ishantech, I also learnt a lot of lessons – some good, some not so good. But all important. Here I am sharing the six that I feel have made me a better business person, actually a better person in general.
Things always don’t go right the first time – As clichéd as it sounds, things will go wrong when you least expect them to. You will lose faith, confidence and at times you will feel like wrapping it all up and quitting. But like the saying goes – it’s darkest before dawn. It is more than often true about work and business as well – at times you’re near a solution or a success when you feel you’ve had enough and are about to quit. By the time we realize how close we were to success when we quit, it’s often too late to go back. So, whenever you feel like giving up – give it one last shot – your best shot. You may be surprised with the outcome.
It’s Important to Connect & Network with People – An entrepreneur can’t go at it alone. He needs a support system – a group of people who will guide, help him/her to achieve his goals, thus establishing a connect with people with in the organization and the industry becomes important. Similarly, networking with other entrepreneurs, media professionals, senior industry professionals is also crucial for building both your personal brand and your organization’s brand.
It’s important to dream big – It’s our dreams that keep us going. If our dreams are small – we achieve small things, often not even that. When our dreams are big we achieve big or at least we achieve the small – with relative ease. Set stretch goals or big targets for yourself, break them up in increasing chunks. Big goals are important to make the activity worthwhile and breaking them up in chunks is important so that you don’t get overwhelmed.
Learn to Listen – Listen, listen, and listen some more. When you listen you learn more. Learning is most important for anyone who is attempting something new or for the first time. So, listen to your conscience, listen to your employees, listen to your vendors, listen to your customers, and listen to the market. With all this listening, there’s little chance for you to go wrong.
Take pride in your achievements – A healthy amount of pride is essential for success in any aspect of life. If you’re not proud of your business, then you can’t expect your employees to be proud to be associated with it. If they’re not proud of their employer – they’ll be poor or reluctant brand ambassadors of your brand.
Respect your people and treat them right – Of all the assets that an organization has, people – your employees – are your most precious asset. Treat them with respect, provide them with the best possible working conditions, and encourage them to take ownership of the tasks assigned to them. In turn you will get the a motivated and willing team to assist you in achieving your vision.
Entrepreneurship brings a new experience and learning every day. We just need to keep our minds open, take in the lessons and implement the learnings going forth. If we do, there’s every possibility of finding the success we set out to achieve.
